Extended benefits of ixekizumab treatment in patients with PsA

medwireNews: Results from the extension phase of the SPIRIT-P2 trial suggest that the benefits of treatment with ixekizumab are maintained for up to 1 year among patients with psoriatic arthritis (PsA).

The proportion of patients who achieved at least a 20% improvement in ACR criteria (ACR20) increased from 53% at week 24 to 84% at week 52 among the 119 patients who were randomly assigned to receive ixekizumab 80 mg every 4 weeks, and from 48% to 75% among the 123 patients who received the drug every 2 weeks.

There was also a “consistency of response” in skin scores and in the resolution of enthesitis and dactylitis at week 52, with “slight trends in favor of the every 4 week regimen,” said Mark Genovese (Stanford University School of Medicine, Palo Alto, California, USA).

He noted that the safety profile of ixekizumab observed in the extension period to date is consistent with what was seen during the 24-week trial, and “continues to be consistent with what is known about [ixekizumab] to date.”